Could This Have Been A Hypo Episode?

[SugarSpike]

So I had a weird funny turn last week where I was at work and very suddenly felt strange, dizzy, then I got double vision, my left eye was more blurry and felt heavy on that side. I've never had this feeling before. I ate my lunch, and it gradually cleared, but I didn't feel right for the rest of the day. My work colleague's know I get low blood sugar and asked if that could be it, but I said no as its not the usual symptoms I get. I had also eaten as usual that morning, no different.
We put it down to tiredness as I had done a few long car journeys in the previous days.
I tested my blood sugar when I got home at 3pm and it was quite low at 3.8 which is unusual for that time of day and Id eaten a few hrs before which was only tuna and broccoli. Its been just over a week and I've felt like I've had a constant head fog, over whelming tiredness, blurry eyes and a few headaches. I also had pangs of sickness twice this week. Today is the first day I'm feeling back to normal and like I say its been over a week, I still have blurry eyes when trying to focus on something.

I usually stick to a very low carb/keto diet, this happened on a Wednesday, the Saturday before I had eaten about 4 or 5 small pieces of fudge and also a small piece of cake(I was at a festival). on the Monday I had very small portion of white rice (visiting family). Could this small change really have put my blood sugars out of whack so much? or could it be something else?

 

[james11]

You say you tested your blood when you got home....didnt you test it at the time you were feeling strange and dizzy?

 

[Lamont D]

So I had a weird funny turn last week where I was at work and very suddenly felt strange, dizzy, then I got double vision, my left eye was more blurry and felt heavy on that side. I've never had this feeling before. I ate my lunch, and it gradually cleared, but I didn't feel right for the rest of the day. My work colleague's know I get low blood sugar and asked if that could be it, but I said no as its not the usual symptoms I get. I had also eaten as usual that morning, no different.
We put it down to tiredness as I had done a few long car journeys in the previous days.
I tested my blood sugar when I got home at 3pm and it was quite low at 3.8 which is unusual for that time of day and Id eaten a few hrs before which was only tuna and broccoli. Its been just over a week and I've felt like I've had a constant head fog, over whelming tiredness, blurry eyes and a few headaches. I also had pangs of sickness twice this week. Today is the first day I'm feeling back to normal and like I say its been over a week, I still have blurry eyes when trying to focus on something.

I usually stick to a very low carb/keto diet, this happened on a Wednesday, the Saturday before I had eaten about 4 or 5 small pieces of fudge and also a small piece of cake(I was at a festival). on the Monday I had very small portion of white rice (visiting family). Could this small change really have put my blood sugars out of whack so much? or could it be something else?

As, you didn't test at the time, I couldn't say what it was.
However, as you are probably aware, anything can kick you out of ketosis, even something like stress, anxiety or even traveling. I know from experience that fasting is my preferred travelling companion, eating just isn't worth it, because you do get that lag from sitting in a car for a long time.
As to what it was, I'm guessing that those symptoms could be either coming out of ketosis or a hypo, but more than likely it is the same symptoms as a hyper, they are the same symptoms I get if I go above normal levels.
Like me, your sensitivity to being out of normal levels will cause symptoms, and you can feel awful for a few days until you get to normal levels as usual. Eating those carbs will take a few days to get out of your system, so as a hypo, it can be a while to get over it.

Nice to hear from you again @SugarSpike.
Glad to hear you have some good control!

Best wishes

 

[SugarSpike]

No I didn't test when it happened as I was at work and don't carry my glucose meter around with me.

Thanks Lamont, I don't know if my blood sugar really tends to spike high enough to cause hyper symptoms. I did think about the fact that I would have been kicked out of ketosis, but it took 4 days for any affect? Being so long low carb I do usually feel it if I fall off the wagon slightly, but nothing like this
Has anyone had double vision before?

 

[Jenny15]

No I didn't test when it happened as I was at work and don't carry my glucose meter around with me.

Thanks Lamont, I don't know if my blood sugar really tends to spike high enough to cause hyper symptoms. I did think about the fact that I would have been kicked out of ketosis, but it took 4 days for any affect? Being so long low carb I do usually feel it if I fall off the wagon slightly, but nothing like this
Has anyone had double vision before?

Hi @SugarSpike

I don't have RH but I have had wild BG swings and hypo/hyper symptoms a lot, including in the years before T2 diagnosis. I agree with others that with RH especially (or other BG dysregulation disorders like T2), anything can happen... a new way of feeling sick can pop up without warning and if you're really unlucky you never get to find out what caused it.

I recommend taking your meter everywhere you go because of this likelihood. If you should be even more unlucky than to have RH, and be in a car crash caused by someone else, being able to show what your BG was before and during driving can potentially save you a lot of money and even criminal charges.

If your body is sensitive enough, even a swing of 2 or 3 points could be enough to cause hyper symptoms. Currently my BGs are between 7 and 10 during the day, and at about 8.5 I start feeling hyper symptoms. We are delicate flowers, lol.

I have had double or blurred vision before... it is scary the first time and a few times after that but these days I try to remind myself it is very unlikely to be anything other than my delicate system freaking out about my BG level changes. It has always resolved itself in the past, for me.

I'm amazed by the complexity of the human body. The blood vessels in the retina are SO tiny yet they can send a message about the level of glucose throughout the whole body
over time. And the human brain was smart enough to develop a way to measure it too. Wow, just wow.

Hang in there, it's a rough time when these things happen but you are on the right track now. I find everything seems worse at night time too. If I've been worried, the next day I read what I wrote and think hmm, that doesn't sound like me.

 

[Lamont D]

No I didn't test when it happened as I was at work and don't carry my glucose meter around with me.

Thanks Lamont, I don't know if my blood sugar really tends to spike high enough to cause hyper symptoms. I did think about the fact that I would have been kicked out of ketosis, but it took 4 days for any affect? Being so long low carb I do usually feel it if I fall off the wagon slightly, but nothing like this
Has anyone had double vision before?

Blurred vision is a common symptom of having either higher or lower blood sugar levels than is usual, also a symptom of fluctuating blood sugar levels.
My vision changed completely due to the yo yo effect before diagnosis. It took about ten days to change again when I had started going low carb. So it all depends on how your body can take time to alter after a disruption in your diet.
If you get a black eye, it takes a few days for the bruising to change colour and go darker, then more days to go back to normal skin colour, depending on the damage, the severity of that bruise, will dictate how your body adjusts.
Hope you feel okay now!

Best wishes

 

[Jenny15]

If you get a black eye, it takes a few days for the bruising to change colour and go darker, then more days to go back to normal skin colour, depending on the damage, the severity of that bruise, will dictate how your body adjusts.

That's a great analogy, @Lamont D, thank you. I have had a few technicolour rainbow effects after mishaps around the eye area in my youth.